'Make in India' will remain mere speeches unless India becomes self-reliant in production: Rahul

'Ground-level change is needed so that India moves beyond the assembly line to become a true manufacturing power and can compete with China on equal footing,' Gandhi wrote in a post in Hindi on X.

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked the government's 'Make in India' initiative saying it is merely assembling and not manufacturing as he called for ground-level changes to help move beyond the assembly line.

"Until India becomes self-reliant in production, talks of jobs, growth, and 'Make in India' will remain mere speeches," he also said.

"Ground-level change is needed so that India moves beyond the assembly line to become a true manufacturing power and can compete with China on equal footing," he wrote in a post in Hindi on X.

"Do you know that 80 per cent of the components of most TVs made in India come from China? "In the name of 'Make in India,' we are merely assembling - not truly manufacturing. From iPhones to TVs - the parts come from abroad, we just put them together," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said.

He said small entrepreneurs want to manufacture, but there's neither policy nor support.

"On the contrary, heavy taxes and the monopoly of select corporates - which have gripped the country's industry," he noted.

Gandhi tagged a 7-minute video of his visit to a local unit assembling TVs in Greater Noida.

In the video of Gandhi's conversation with the local TV unit, he is heard saying that 'Make in India' is actually 'Assemble in India'.

He also talks about reducing margins due to a single big player's monopoly in supply of parts.